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Do food courts offer competition to hotel F&B outlets and stand-alone restaurants?
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Do food courts offer competition to hotel F&B outlets and stand-alone restaurants? Punam Mohandas asks some key food and beverage managers to debate on the subject.

Q: Do you think the increasing number of food courts at malls and multiplexes pose a challenge for hotels and stand-alone restaurants?
JVS RANA: I don’t think they pose a challenge for hotels, but to some extent they eat into the business of non-branded stand-alone restaurants.

YOGESWARAN VEERSAMY: Food courts are certainly not a threat to five-star hotels. Malls, multiplexes, and food courts, are under one roof as a complete entertainment destination for a customer whose needs are different from a guest who visits stand-alone restaurants or five-star hotels.

PRASHANT GUPTA: I would regard food and beverage outlets in hotels, stand-alone’s and the ones in malls as totally separate, as they attract different kinds of clientele, however, sometimes they share the same pie of food and beverage covers.

It’s true that some stand-alones have been providing far better product and services than some hotels, therefore it affects the frequency of visits of a individual to a hotel. Having said that, in most cases the stand-alones cannot match the wow factor a dining experience in some trendy restaurant in a five-star hotel offers. With a growing economy like India, more and more people are patronising hotels as they can afford the finer things in life.

ABHISHEK SHARMA: In our industry, good restaurants are the ones that outlive the other as a successful business venture. The frenzy with which outlets are sprouting up across the retail sector does have a short term impact on the culinary experience for us, but in the long run, the effect is negated. Essentially, if a retail outlet as a mall would open a restaurant based on ideologies that hotels or high-end restaurants use then it may prove successful.

Also, a meal experience is beyond just the food and the service at your table; all factors, such as ambience, service experience, safety and security of the venue, music of the area, are just some of the factors that build towards a complete experience. In a retail location, some of these factors are beyond day-to-day control.

MAHESH SHARMA: Food courts are targetting a different market segment compared to hotels and stand- alone restaurants. I do not think that they pose any challenge, however, hotels need to keep updated with the current trends and maintain high quality and authentic cuisine.

Q: Are food courts so popular because of the entertainment options available in malls?
JVS RANA: The food courts at malls are the not the actual drivers of footfall, as most people coming into the mall are there because of the multiplex, shopping, and kids entertainment areas which most of the new upcoming shopping malls are providing.

Food courts form a part of value-added service and because of the wide range, reasonable pricing, comfortable and fashionable surroundings, people tend to hang out in the food courts.

YOGESWARAN VEERSAMY: Entertainment in Hyderabad is majorly movies and pubs; there are no other options such as fishing, bowling, karting, on a large scale. People love to watch movies these days and with more malls slated to open in coming years, there will be an increase in number of food courts.

This will definitely meet the needs of every individual who wishes to stop by a destination that is under one roof.

PRASHANT GUPTA: Yes. In terms of malls, they do pose a challenge for the hotels and stand-alones as firstly they are a destination in themselves, offering everything people would want to do on their holiday and also, there is a convenience factor, as a family that plans to watch a movie or shop in a mall will not go to a hotel later to have food. Mall managements understand that, as their footfalls increase along with the increase in the time spent by customers.

ABHISHEK SHARMA: The entertainment options do feed the outlets with footfalls, but my opinion rests solidly on the entire thing being an experience rather than just food at the table.

MAHESH SHARMA: Entertainment options do play an important part, but the style of service, the price, cuisine, and the location, has a prominent role to play as well.

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Q: How are you going to deal with this challenge to ensure better footfalls at hotel restaurants?
JVS RANA: India has a large market segment of people who can afford to pay for a high-end experience, extremely good authentic food, and service. Some of the hotels have done an excellent job on this; this is what they should focus on and provide.

 YOGESWARAN VEERSAMY: We believe in providing our guests with a personalised service; our associates are well acquainted to anticipate guest needs. We are very positive that our values, taste, product and services will generate trails and bring in more foot falls.

ABHISHEK SHARMA: The overall challenges for the hotel and restaurant segment will be to continually innovate and expand their target data base. They have the ability and the infrastructure to create customised experiences and hence can fare well. Over the next few years, hotels may see outlets that are becoming popular in the retail sector being directed towards franchising spaces within the hotel premises.

A lot of new hotels are hitting the nail on the head with opening outlets with live kitchens offering six-ten types of cuisines under the same roof. It must also be understood that the younger demographic section of our society tends to propel their parents towards many of the above decisions.

MAHESH SHARMA: Hotel restaurants target people who are willing to pay and don’t want to compromise in the standards of food and services provided to them. However, with the increased choice, diners now have options based on price, location, quality, cuisine, and so on.